


all i ever wanted

by ahoydonnie



Category: DuckTales (Cartoon 2017)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-15
Updated: 2020-05-15
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:01:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,269
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24194770
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ahoydonnie/pseuds/ahoydonnie
Summary: After joining forces with one of Scrooge’s all time enemies, Fethry Duck has a meeting with his uncle that unearths some long stowed away memories and feelings.
Comments: 5
Kudos: 37





	all i ever wanted

“ _Him?_ ”

Scrooge’s voice echoed throughout the empty boardroom with no one else to hear besides his nephew Fethry.

“ _Do ya know why I called ye here, lad?_ ”

“ _Uncle Scrooge, if I could just-”_ Fethry tried to interject, removing his hands from his lap.

“ _No. I don’t want to hear it. I cannae hear it._ ” Scrooge rubbed at his eyes behind his pince-nez, and sighed. “ _How could ya, Fethry?_ _That… that_ ** _man_** _has tried to kill me, and Donald, and the kids several times. You know this, at least I’m sure he tells ya this, and yet ye still went with’im._ ”

Fethry’s shoulders sunk, his eyes darted around as if looking for an out, but there was none to be found. 

“ _He’s good to me,_ ” A mumble worked its way past his beak, and as soon as it left, he shut his eyes tightly.

“ _Good to you?_ _Good to you?_ ” Scrooge scoffed, slamming his palms on the table in front of him. “ _How good can Flintheart Glomgold be?_ ”

“ _I dunno, he…_ ” A twitch. “ _he lets me in on things, he lets me see the sharks,_ ”

“ _The sharks,_ ” Scrooge repeated, looking away. “ _he lets ye see the sharks. Okay._ ”

Fethry nodded, his heart pounding in his ears. It was the loudest thing in the room, but only Fethry could hear it. He squeezed his trembling hands together tightly to stop them from shaking, and he slowly blinked his eyes open. He remembered this feeling.

—————————

“Day 123 of livin’ in the lab! A special day!” _Fethry said cheerfully to the recorder, as he mopped up some water that had dropped down from the ceiling._ “Had to do some slight repairs, but that’s okay! I’m sure your people will bring some extra paneling and rivets!”

_The underwater lab had been home to Fethry for about four months, and where others would go mad, he was surrounded by creatures he loved, hence, he was happy._

_He whistled to himself, then placed a bucket under the drip._ “There, that’ll keep pesky puddles off the floor!” _He stood back to admire his handiwork, when something hit the window, jostling the pod. Almost falling down, he held on tightly to the tool hooks._

 _The pod slowly rocked to a rest, and Fethry adjusted his hat._ “Whoa there… now what was that?” _He stood up slightly, rising a bit to his tippy toes, and carefully approached the glass._

“Hello?” _He called out, tracing his finger along the newly formed cracks in the glass._ “Is anybody-”

_Glass shattering._

_Water, everywhere._

_It poured into the room like a tsunami, the deafening sound of the rushing water filled Fethry’s head, and unbeknownst to him, it would stay there for years to come._

“Uncle Scrooge!” _He instinctively cried out, quickly grabbing the recorder, opening and shutting the pod door with a heavy slam. Fethry crawled as far away as he could from the door, his sopping wet clothes, hat, and feathers weighing him down._

_He hit the recorder, but it had been too late, it frazzled and sparked in his hands. He jumped and rubbed the burn mark on his palm, trying to ease the pain from his now singed feathers. He stood up, only to see most of his belongings floating past the porthole window._

_He backed up against the wall of the pod connector and slid down it, curling into himself, cradling the dead recorder. Pawing under his hat, Fethry grabbed his Junior Woodchuck Guidebook, still in great condition, now that they had started making them waterproof when he was a young Chucker._

_He licked his index finger and leafed through it, finding the page he wanted._ “ _Junior Woodchuck Rule 87,_ ” _He began, his brows so tightly knit together that he almost gave himself a headache._ “ _The unknown is often kind, reach out for help, and she will provide._ ” 

_He shut the book and held it tightly too. He could barely read it anymore, his eyes felt like they were floating, and the ringing in his ears just seemed to get louder._ “I can only hope at this moment that that’s true, Uncle Scrooge,” _He whispered, as his vision started to fade._ “I know you’re coming back one day- you and the crew,”

—————————

“ _Are ya listening to me, lad?_ ” Scrooge tapped his cane against the wall, snapping Fethry out of his trance. “ _My own blood, thinking Glomgold is good.”_ He muttered angrily to himself.

Fethry rubbed the spot on his palm where no feathers grew anymore. He hated upsetting anyone, especially Uncle Scrooge, and there were daily reminders of his four year dedication to that. Unfortunately, nobody else wanted to pay attention. They all had bigger fish to fry, and Fethry was _not_ invited to dinner.

When Glomgold was looking for a scientist, Fethry had no idea what he was getting into, he just wanted to help like he always did.

“ _He listens to me, he thinks my ideas are good,_ ” Fethry said, wringing his hands, his arms so tightly pinned to his body, one would think they’d just melt right into him. “ _he lets me help, he lets me see the sharks,_ ” He repeated again, his thumb pressing in harder to the burn mark.

 _“There you go again with the sharks!”_ Scrooge snapped. “ _I know ye like… creatures, but what about family? Does that mean anythin’ to ya?_ ”

“ _Family?_ ”

Fethry paused, separating his hands for the first time since they entered the room. “You _want to talk to_ me _about family?”_ Without realizing it, he rose from the leather meeting room chair, almost on autopilot.

“ _Fethry,_ ” Scrooge lowered his cane, his voice softening, and reached out, although he was quite far from his nephew.

“ _No, Uncle Scrooge._ ” Fethry cut him off, the view of his uncle getting hazier and hazier as his eyes filled with tears. “ _Family shouldn’t lie to you, family shouldn’t abandon you. I did not_ _see_ _my family until Della’s kids freed me from the lab. I was happy then, but that’s because I forgot._ ” 

“ _You forgot… what?_ ” Scrooge asked carefully.

“ _That you’d forgotten me.”_

Scrooge stumbled back, his nephew’s words cutting through him like no enchanted sword ever dared to. 

Here he was, now a self proclaimed, proud family man, being faced with the truth. The truth that he’d only been reminded of his nephew’s existence by a can phone on his desk. A can phone he never answered. A can phone he told the kids never to answer. 

Scrooge didn’t just forget, he _made himself forget._

Fethry was right. Scrooge couldn’t explain himself out of this.

Fethry whimpered, starting to hum a little tune to himself, but his sobs drowned it out. He dragged the sleeve of his cardigan across his eyes.

“ _I care about the family, I really do,_ ” He choked out. “ _it’s not like I’m working with him to… to get back at you or anything,_ ”

“ _I know, Fethry, I know._ ” Scrooge walked around the side of the table, his voice much calmer now.

“ _He just listens to me- he really does, honest, and he-”_

 _“He lets you see the sharks._ ” Scrooge took his nephew’s hand, his fingers making contact with the burn mark. He winced, turning Fethry’s hand over, and delicately traced the featherless patch, like a concerned parent with their duckling’s skinned elbow. “ _When did this happen?_ ”

“ _D-day one hundred and twenty three,”_ Fethry hiccuped, jolting at the sudden touch. 

Scrooge tsked at this, shaking his head. “ _I’m… I’m sorry, Fethry. I shouldn’t have left you there.”_

Fethry nodded quickly, trying to get a deep breath in. He moved forward, and hugged his uncle tightly. “ _That’s all I ever wanted,”_

  
  



End file.
